


Not Coffee, Katsura

by fruitspunchsamuraiGdis



Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Coffee Shop, Coffee Shops, Falling In Love, Feels, Fluff, Gay, Ginzura - Freeform, I mean I thought it was a slow build-up but idk anymore, Love, M/M, Relationship(s), Samurai, gintama - Freeform, slow build-up, this is just a coffee shop au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-06 13:35:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17940683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fruitspunchsamuraiGdis/pseuds/fruitspunchsamuraiGdis
Summary: “Oi, I heard the coffee here’s really good.” The silver haired man called to him, catching his attention. He turned around, olive-brown eyes catching lazy red ones.“I’m not coffee, I’m Katsura.”





	Not Coffee, Katsura

Rain poured down as the sound of squealing shoes were heard. Those without umbrellas stood aside to take shelter from the rain, shivering at the cold. A single man walked carelessly, ignoring the chills going up his spine at the fall breeze. Leaves scattered in the air, right above a naturally permed bush of hair. The man sighed, breath visible as a sheer white, and he took a right at the street. 

His eyes peered over the glowing sign above the small shop, and he stepped forward, pushing the door open. The bell above his head rang, hand in his half worn kimono. He stared down at the brown counter stool, before sitting himself right on it. 

He watched the back of a figure in front of him hum to a unknown tune, and he tilted his head. He watched the man dry the cup with a washcloth, black hair reaching just a little below his shoulders, looking as if he’d just opted for a new cut. 

“Oi, I heard the coffee here’s really good.” The silver haired man called to him, catching his attention. He turned around, olive-brown eyes catching lazy, red ones. 

“I’m not coffee, I’m Katsura.” The man, Katsura spoke, looking irritated. 

“I didn’t call you coffee.” The other man replied, squinting. 

“Ah, my apologizes.” He bowed, then stood back up. 

“Give me a cup on the house, and we’ll call it even, Zura.” 

“I’m not Zura, I’m Katsura.” 

“Roger, Zura.” The black haired man frowned. 

“Katsura.” 

He let out a small “hmph” when the silver haired man ignored him. 

“I cannot serve coffee to you, Natural Perm-san.” The man– Katsura, spoke all too seriously, and red eyes followed his figure as he walked back to pull out two cups. 

“It’s not Natural Perm-san, it’s Gintoki.” The man replied, sounding a little annoyed. 

Katsura smiled. 

“The pleasure is mine, Gintoki.” 

Gintoki’s cheeks went red in embarrassment. 

_Did he say that so I would tell him my name?_

He coughed, regaining his composure. 

“What can you do for a man with a sweet tooth?” He questioned, and Katsura raised an eyebrow. 

“Coffee is supposed to be bitter.”

“I wanted to feel young again.” 

He poured the hot coffee into a cup, then into the second, before bringing both forward. Gintoki grabbed the sugar, pouring it into one of the cups, watching it dissolve into the liquid. Katsura watched as Gintoki continued adding more sugar, before setting it back and mixing it. 

He looked around, seeing nobody else in the shop. 

“Is it usually this deserted?” 

“Not as many people have been coming in since the Amanto took over, they’re too afraid to leave their homes.” Katsura explained, and Gintoki turned back to face his coffee and the man again, taking ahold of the cup and sipping it. 

He face twisted to one of disgust. 

He watched as Katsura did the same. 

“Are you drinking my coffee?” He asked, watching as the man continued to sip at the sugary cup despite the look on his face. He set it down, wiping his mouth. 

“I wished to see what feeling young again was like.” 

Gintoki sipped at the bitter cup in his hands, stomach feeling as though it was reeling back at the taste. 

“What’s the one I’m drinking supposed to make me feel then?” 

“Like you’re drinking coffee.” 

A small laugh escaped Gintoki’s lips. 

“Is that so?” Katsura nodded, and Gintoki felt as though he was forgetting something. 

“Shit.” 

He forgot to pick Kagura up. 

“Late for your real life plans?” Katsura asked as Gintoki stood up, reaching for his wallet. 

“Sorry, I—“

“It’s on the house.” Gintoki stopped as Katsura waved his hand dismissively. 

“Are you sure?” 

Katsura turned back around, making his way to the sink, ignoring his question. 

Gintoki walked to the door, pushing it open. 

“I’ll stop by again soon.” What was he saying? 

He didn’t see the other man’s expression as he left, a single thought circling through his head. 

Katsura’s smile flashed in his head as he hurried down the wide street way. 

 

-

 

The next time he visited, Katsura’s hair had grown a little longer. He was the same as always, humming a random tune as he washed coffee cups. The bell rang again as he’d walked in, but the other man paid no attention to it. 

“You’ll lose your business if you have lousy customer service.” 

Katsura turned. 

“My customers don’t seem to mind.” Katsura’s features seemed delicate, resembling that of a woman’s. 

“I’d like one coffee on the house.” Gintoki said, and Katsura’s eyes furrowed. 

“You can’t just ask for free coffee.” 

“Not even to the coffee man?” 

“It’s not coffee man, it’s Katsura.” 

“Then, Zura, why don’t you make me a cup of coffee?” 

Katsura looked up, as if thinking, then he spoke. 

“One coffee coming up, Natural Perm-san.” 

“On the house?” 

“No it’s right here.” 

Gintoki cracked a smile. 

“Can I drink it with the black haired beauty in front of me?” The man’s cheeks reddened. 

“It’s not black haired beauty, it’s Katsura.” 

“Isn’t it the—”

The door opened, and the bell chime interrupted his words. 

“Gin-chan!” He watched as the orange haired china girl ran to him. 

“Kagura?” He asked in confusion, “How did—“

“You’ll never guess what Shinpachi did!” 

“What are you doing here?” The girl frowned. 

“I was looking for you so I brought Sadaharu to follow your scent.” She was bundled up, wearing a scarf and gloves. 

Katsura stared between the two for a second, a strange look crossing his face. 

The girl ran outside, calling “Sadarahu”, finding the dog waiting by the door. 

“Your daughter?” 

Gintoki laughed. 

“I look that old?” Katsura shook his head, something like relief washing over his face. 

“She and Shinpachi work for me.” 

“Oh? And what do you do?” 

“Anything.” Gintoki flashed a smile, and Katsura snorted. 

“We’re called Odd Jobs Gin-chan.” 

“You certainly are odd.” Katsura pulled out a third cup as Kagura came back inside. 

“I take it you are the leader of the group?” He asked, and she perked up, nodding her head. 

Gintoki opened his mouth but was interrupted by Katsura. 

“Is hot chocolate okay, leader?” 

The silver haired man pouted, crossing his arms. A cup was set in front of him, catching his attention. 

Katsura clapped his hands together in front of his face, closing his eyes. 

“Oh Lord above, please allow this man to feel young again.” 

Gintoki’s heart melted at Katsura’s goofy look. 

In an hour or so, the two were leaving, and Katsura waved his hand in dismissal when Gintoki pulled his wallet out. 

“Accept this as a form of payment then.” Gintoki said, taking a hold of Katsura’s hands, placing a card in his palms. 

Katsura’s face flushed at the sudden contact, and Gintoki was out with the China girl, walking down the street as she waved her umbrella around. 

Katsura smiled, flipping the card. 

Odd Jobs Gin-chan!

His eyes skimmed over, spotting the address and telephone number. 

Maybe he’d call soon. 

 

-

 

“Gin-chan is in love, Shinpachi.” Kagura said aloud, catching the brunette’s attention. 

“Don’t decide Gin-san’s feelings for him!” The silver haired man snapped, shooting up quickly at the words, eyes wide, his copy of Jump falling to the floor. 

“What are you so worked up for?” Shinpachi asked, and the man’s face went red. 

“Eh?— Nothing, I just—“ He waved his hands in front of his face, and Shinpachi had no idea what he was saying but he could tell the man was flustered. 

“I told you, Shinpachi. Gin-chan is bringing us a woman home soon, okay?” 

“What’s her name?” 

“He calls himself Zura.” Kagura said. 

“He?” 

“Gin-chan forgot to tell us that he was gay, Shinpachi. He likes his men with long, black h—“

“Shut up, I’m not gay!” Shinpachi wondered if an egg would cook had he cracked it on Gintoki’s face. 

“Then how come you gave Zura your card?” 

“I don’t know, okay? Shut up!” Gintoki screeched when the phone began ringing. 

He began sweating, incoherent words falling from his mouth.

“Kagura! Answer it!” He panicked, and the orange haired girl grabbed the phone, picking up. 

“Hello? This is Odd Jobs Kagura-chan!”

“Oi!” She ignored Gintoki. 

“Zura?” She questioned, and then went silent for a moment. She nodded her head, mumbling an “okay” before hanging up suddenly. 

“Zura said he’s closing the shop tomorrow, in case you were stopping by.” She said, and Gintoki’s nervousness vanished. 

“Eh? Why?” 

“I don’t know, but he sounded sad.” She replied. 

Gintoki sulked into the couch. 

 

-

 

He’d decided to come to the shop anyway. 

The lights were off, door locked, and the open sign wasn’t glowing like it usually did. 

“What are you doing here?” 

He turned around to see Katsura, holding an umbrella, dressed in a black kimono. 

“I could ask the same to you.” 

The man sighed, looking down. 

“I thought you might still come, so I came to tell you to go home.”

“All the way here for me?” 

Katsura stayed silent. 

“Where are you going?” Gintoki asked. 

Normally people only dressed that way for funerals. 

Katsura smiled sadly, lowering his umbrella to cover Gintoki’s head. 

“Would you like to accompany me to a cemetery?” Gintoki looked at the man whose gaze lowered to the ground. 

Did Katsura always look so sad? 

Gintoki didn’t reply, instead he began walking. 

“Let’s go.” 

Katsura followed, and they’d reached it soon enough. It was the same place Gintoki had been found by his landlord and given a home. 

Katsura walked over a grave with a single, wilted flower sitting. He removed it, adding a new one. 

“My grandmother hated flashy things.” He spoke, “So I bring my parents the bouquet instead, and give her just one.” 

Gintoki sat down on his knees, clasping his hands together and Katsura stood next to his figure, trembling a bit. The black haired man bit his lip, eyes watering. The silver haired man opened his mouth, speaking to the gravestone. 

“Grandmother, thank you for raising such a kind and beautiful man.” Katsura looked up at the grave, and Gintoki’s eyes were fixated on the man this time. A tear made its way down his face, and Katsura dropped to his knees as well, clasping his hands. 

“Grandmother, thank you for allowing me to meet such a kind and beautiful man.” 

 

-

 

Gintoki learned a lot about Katsura. 

He’d gotten to hear about Katsura’s family, who’d died long ago, as well as his grandmother, who raised him alone. He noticed that Katsura would argue the way he always did when Gintoki called him “Zura”, but smiled the entire time. Katsura loved soba, and told Gintoki about a ramen shop that he loved to go to whenever he could. The coffee shop originally belonged to his grandmother, which Katsura inherited. 

In return, Gintoki told Katsura about how he’d never met his parents, and never got to know who they were, or what they did. He told him about how he’d met Shinpachi, and how he’d run over Kagura. He mentioned his experience in the war, and Katsura reeled it all in, mentioning how he’d been in the war at one point as well. He told Katsura about his sensei, and how he was the man that found and raised him. Gintoki loved jump and sweets, and although he complained about the coffee shop, he always came. 

There was a day where Katsura seemed more tired than usual, and Gintoki noticed the man yawning for the third time in two minutes. Gintoki watched the man stagger as he walked over to Gintoki. 

“…Zura?” Katsura sat on the stool next to him. 

“Sorry, I didn’t sleep much last night.” 

Gintoki furrowed his eyebrows. 

“I lost my parents in the war.” He said, and the other man quietly listened. 

“So as soon as I could… I fought to protect what they couldn’t.” He yawned again, closing his eyes. Before he knew it, he was leaned forward onto the man’s shoulder, and Gintoki felt Katsura’s fingers lightly touch his own. 

“Gintoki?” 

“Hm?”

“I want to protect you.” 

Gintoki’s heart began pounding crazily, as Katsura’s breaths evened out and he fell asleep on his shoulder. The silver haired man moved Katsura’s head onto his lap, hand stroking his hair. 

“I’m the one who should be saying that, you idiot.” 

 

-

 

“Zura, why don’t you go out with Gin-chan?” 

Katsura’s face went red. 

“Ah— I-I… He couldn’t possibly—“ Katsura’s cheeks were flushed, and he clenched his hands together in his lap. 

“You like him, right, Zura?” The China girl asked. 

“It’s not Zura, it’s Katsura!” He said before coughing and turning away. 

“I don’t know if he…” He trailed off. 

“Why don’t you ask him?” 

“That’s enough, Kagura.” Shinpachi spoke from the other couch. 

“Katsura-san, you have feelings for Gin-san?” He asked, and the man’s cheeks burned. 

“I didn’t say that.”

Gintoki insisted on grabbing sweets before Katsura showed up, but the man had come earlier than he’d thought, meeting Kagura and Shinpachi at the door instead.

“Gin-chan only bothers to move when it’s for Zura. He’s always going on about Zura Zura Zura.” 

Katsura looked down. 

“That doesn’t mean he—“

“Why would he ask you to spend the night?” Kagura asked, and then the door opened.

“I’m home.” Gintoki announced, and Katsura yelped, falling over. 

“Zura? You’re here already?” He asked, setting down a couple of bags on the table. 

“It’s not Zura, it’s Katsura!” He exclaimed, throwing the nearest pillow at Gintoki’s face.

The object hadn’t even fazed the man as he brought out cookies, eyes twinkling in delight. 

“Are you sure he didn’t by them for himself?” Katsura whispered to the China girl, and she began muttering back. 

“Gin-chan just wants an excuse to buy sweets, disgusting.” 

“What did you just say?” Gintoki said, making a fist with his hand, “After all the trouble I went through, I even used your allowance money to buy this!” 

“What?!” 

“Shut up! Little girls don’t know how to spend money wisely!” 

The two heard munching, finding Katsura with a cookie sticking out his mouth. 

“Don’t just help yourself!” The two shouted, Gintoki jumping the man. 

“Do you know how much sweets cost?!” 

Katsura looked up at the man, biting into the cookie, before holding the rest of it in his hands. 

“We can share then.” 

The black haired man pressed it to Gintoki’s lips, pushing it into his mouth. 

Gintoki sat like an idiot above Katsura, looking dumbfounded with half a cookie in his mouth. 

Kagura and Shinpachi’s jaws dropped. 

_An indirect kiss?_

In reality, Katsura was just trying not to upset the silver haired man. 

 

-

 

“I’ve never slept over someone’s house before.” Katsura said, watching Gintoki hide the rest of the sweets he’d bought in the bottom cabinet. He stood up, following the man into the small kitchen.

“What are you, a high school girl at her first slumber party?” Gintoki asked, and Katsura glared. 

“What’s so exciting about it anyways?” He continued, and Katsura stood there in front of him, searching for an answer. 

The black haired man lowered his gaze, smiling at Gintoki. 

“Is this how everyday is like for you?” Katsura asked, eyes roaming around the house.

“I guess.” Gintoki huffed, and then he remembered. 

How long had Katsura been alone for? 

His eyes met the other man’s, and he turned away, a sour look on his face. 

“Kagura and Shinpachi are the worst, they’re annoying and stupid and—“ Gintoki cut himself himself off with a sigh. 

_And what?_

“I see.” Katsura mumbled, something like sadness reflecting in his eyes, keeping that same small smile on his face. 

“I think…” He paused, his gaze fitting itself on Gintoki’s. 

“I want something like that too.”

 

-

 

“You don’t know what it is?” 

“Of course I know! It’s a…” Gintoki furrowed his eyebrows—

“A…” 

He’d come to the coffee shop looking like he’d been run over by a car— which he had, but that wasn’t the point. 

“So you don’t know.” Katsura was smiling, fitting the band around Gintoki’s wrist. 

Gintoki rarely received gifts, and it wasn’t his birthday or anything. So why Katsura decided to get him something puzzled the man. 

“It’s a bracelet, isn’t it?” 

Katsura shook his head. 

“It’s like a promise.” He explained, watching the silver gleam. 

“A promise for what?” Gintoki’s cheeks were dusted a light pink, his eyes staring anywhere but Katsura. 

“That…” Katsura swallowed nervously. 

“That no matter where you go… I’ll always find you.” 

Gintoki eyes widened a bit, cheeks reddening. He caught something like fear in the brown eyes in front of him, and he remembered then, that Katsura had always been alone. 

Then he laughed, leaning his head forward slightly. 

“Zura, why would I need something like this to know that?” He asked, looking oddly happy. 

“I don’t know, you paa-head!” Katsura retorted, crossing his arms. 

Gintoki never took it off. 

 

-

 

“Zura… what is that?” 

“It’s not that, it’s Elizabeth!” 

Gintoki squinted at the large white duck. 

“Elizabeth.” 

Katsura nodded. 

“What is _it_ ?”

“It’s not _it_ , it’s Elizabeth!” 

Gintoki snorted. 

“Did you find it in the trash or something— or wait, did you pick it—“ 

“I said it’s not it, it’s Elizabeth!” 

The duck sipped it’s cup of tea, watching the two argue. 

 

-

 

He’d realized it at some point, or maybe he’d known from the start. 

What he wanted to do. 

Katsura had spouted something about protecting him before, and the more he thought about it he realized there was something he wanted more than just to protect Katsura. Or maybe the same level. Zura was important, after all. 

He wanted to be that person. 

The bell above his head rang as he burst in, hands behind his back. 

Katsura remained humming as always, unaware. 

“I heard the coffee here’s really good.” 

He walked over, using his free hand to grab the man’s hand over the counter, tugging him lightly. 

“Oi—“ Katsura’s voice died down as his eyes met Gintoki’s, and he saw it— that. 

__

__

“Zura.” He mumbled, bringing a hand up to the black haired man’s cheek. Katsura went still, cheeks flushing. 

“W-What are you—“ He stooped abruptly when a single rose was shoved at his face. 

Gintoki’s cheeks flamed as Katsura stared in confusion. 

“What…”

“It’s for you.” 

“For me?” 

“Go out with me.” 

“Okay.” 

Gintoki spluttered. 

“Okay?” 

“Okay.” 

He paused. 

“Zura.” 

“What?” 

“I love you.” 

He wanted to be the one who made the loneliness vanish from Zura’s eyes like it did just now.

**Author's Note:**

> this was a spur of the moment thing my dumbass self wrote at 2 in the morning. 
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own Gintama, this was just a work inspired by it.


End file.
